All Aluminum ???

[KD702]

Hello to all,

I am pleased to find this forum. I have been watching and reading, and taking it all in. There are some really great ideas on here. I have to say I have become obsessed with building my trailer. I am lucky to have a very good friend that is a welder and metal fab God. I am looking to build something like the "Traildog" style to tow behind my Jeep. I am thinking that I want to use all aluminum, Skin, 1x1 frame, Timbren Axles,........My Question to everyone is ......Is there any reason I should not build the under frame out of Aluminum too?? I have no plan to do extreme Rock Crawling but it would see both road miles and two-rut woodland trails.

Also, What are peoples thoughts on having a pressurized cabin for the camper to keep the dust out when it goes down the road?

Thanks
KD

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Aluminum is a bit more brittle than steel when it comes to repetitive vibrations and suspension mounting points, go with steel on the main frame and use aluminum on the cabin.

 

[calicamper]

Jeep n beat me to it. Aluminum us great stuff but its not as tolerant when it comes to shock loads. The typical soft steel trailers handle the abuse much better. Cracked aluminum frame or axle mounts would put a quick end to an otherwise great trip. I like the camper shape looks good. Do the box in aluminum and trailer in soft steel. Rv companies moved to rounded top door jams because the squared off welded aluminum frames were cracking at the joints. Good example of why all aluminum trailers take some special design and welding skill to avoid failing and cracking major structure components.

 

[KD702]

Thanks for the replies, I have found a company that may be able to bend the 30 & 60 deg corners for this design. I am thinking of having them bend up the corners with 9-10 inches each way from center. Then using inserts to connect the straight runs of pipes to the rounded corners and welding the joints. Still trying to figure out how to "Finish" the seams where the wall skin and the roof skin meet on those rounded corners. I have some ideas but too hard to try to explain what is in my head.:drool:

I am thinking of bringing the size up enough to do a fold out tent bed on the left side wall. but that is up in the air yet. Was thinking of a 30 x 80 inch fold out side with a custom tent for it. Mostly for one of the kids or someone shorter than me? It would also open it up inside and be a great place for gear when out on hunting trips. Maybe even tent out the front angle like the Conqueror.
I picked up a Westin Aluminum Roof Basket like this from a garage sale I was driving by this last summer. Couldn't pass it up for $50. She said they only used it twice and it looks like it was never used. Score!!!!

 

[dcoy]

The XVENTURE Trailers are made of aluminum, including the frame. That's a pretty heavy duty application, so I assume that material could work just as well as steel, if properly constructed. I, personally, would go for aluminum construction in a trailer if it was available in my application and I didn't already have a steel one.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Jeep n beat me to it. Aluminum us great stuff but its not as tolerant when it comes to shock loads. The typical soft steel trailers handle the abuse much better. Cracked aluminum frame or axle mounts would put a quick end to an otherwise great trip. I like the camper shape looks good. Do the box in aluminum and trailer in soft steel. Rv companies moved to rounded top door jams because the squared off welded aluminum frames were cracking at the joints. Good example of why all aluminum trailers take some special design and welding skill to avoid failing and cracking major structure components.

Not to mention that steel is also more readily repaired on the trail if needed.

 

[KD702]

dcoy I like the looks of those. Wish I could just get that frame void of the rest and no axels. Then build from there.

 

[calicamper]

Not to mention that steel is also more readily repaired on the trail if needed.

My welder cousin by profession, just pointed that out to me also. I pinged him asking if the typical general suggestion of staying away from all aluminum framed trailers still was the best approach. He says yes hands down. #1 issue he explained is that Aluminum takes a whole other level of skill to weld really well regarding knowing exactly what type of metal your working with what sort of welding rig you have etc. He said lots of people weld aluminum but very few people weld it to a level that will handle lots of rough abuse like a trailer that sees off road use. And he did say end game factor the mild steel rig is the easy ability to do a fix just about anywhere if you do happen to break something major while on a trip.

 

[OZKAM]

No reason why you couldnt use Ally as a chassis base, just have to use the correct type, here is a build being done in Australia with an ally chassis that may be of interest .
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=37374.0

 

[calicamper]

We have an aluminum trailer built in a similar manner that my club keeps a 25ft RIB on. Lots of stuff going on with the trailer frame though its primarily just used as a yard dolly and cradle for the boat. ^ that build looks worse than the trailer we have at the club regarding structure.

I'll say it again off road - rough use stick with mild steel. Oh and the weight savings between an aluminum trailer rated the same as a mild steel trailer is really not that dramatically different.

 

[KD702]

I did not mention that the weight of the jack and tire on the roof increases the chance of a side flop on rutted roads. You could build (since you are building the trailer) a under frame tire carrier and a box for the the jack.

The pressurized cabin sounds good, but just another power draw and potential item to break. If it quits working while your driving, how do you know this? When you stop and the layer of dust over everything. Getting the best automotive door weather stripping to keep the dust out is, I think this is better way to go.

This is free information and not even up to the $.02 level. I will follow the build and see how it comes out. Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. I think you make a good point on the lower center of gravity.

As far as the pressurized cabin, it would be based off a low voltage fan and would used a standard automotive filter ring from back in the carb days. I plan on sealing it as best I can but thought it would be add protection. I see that a few of the Australian makers have this system and thought it would be easy to add and might be worth it. I have thought I would have the switch for the fan in the Jeep so I could run it at will on the back roads and dirt trails.

OK So does anyone know anything about any corrosion issues with Aluminum against Steel? I remember hearing something about that, I will have to ask my buddy. I have to agree that repairs when 1000 miles from home would be easier if the chassis was steel. I guess I could always bed-liner the steel before I begin the shell frame.

Any thoughts on the fold out tent bed?

 

[calicamper]

Its not a huge issue if you isolate the two simple rubber mat or bedliner coat between your steel trailer and aluminum box/camper. We use stainless rivets in our aluminum masts at high stress rigging points in the sailboat world. Corrosion takes place with low quality metals reacting with aluminum add salt water and it can get ugly. But stainless rivets or aluminum rivets are a non issue. I just replaced some 1986 stainless rivets in my boom rigging last summer. Minor corrosion after how many yrs of sitting in the Pacific? I wouldnt be too worried in a trailer application. My bigger concern would be well done electrical fully insulated and chaff protected wiring given the whole rig will be built of conductive metals. The mild steel trailer frame would also give you a better grounding platform for your ground wire.

 

[Sean H]

Aluminum trailers work just fine. Look around, they are everywhere. They are just more difficult to build correctly than a steel one. I have an aluminum trailer under a 10k boat, an aluminum snowmobile trailer, and have 2 53' semi trailer flatbeds for the company. Why pull more weight than you need? Plus no rust. Only trailer failure I ever had actually was a steel gooseneck.

 

[calicamper]

Sean I agree though for every 1 well built aluminum trailer I see 5 that are a rolling mess. Aluminum trailers for the trucking biz are rare given they are highly sensitive to loaded weight they don't bend they just break. Boat trailers are quite different than RV or utility or hauling trailers in that they typically haul the same exact fixed weight balanced in the same manner every trip. Having said that we have a couple of aluminum trailers at our Yacht club that are pretty much only dry yard dollies due to various failing and cracked components on the primary structure of the trailer.

My 28ft 12ft wide 8000lb empty 5ft 6 lead keel sailboat is around 9500 loaded with full tanks we don't trailer it anywhere it gets hauled out via a travel lift once every few years for a bottom job. 10K boat must be one heck of a big Bay Liner.

 

[fluffyprinceton]

"As far as the pressurized cabin, it would be based off a low voltage fan and would used a standard automotive filter ring from back in the carb days. I plan on sealing it as best I can but thought it would be add protection. I see that a few of the Australian makers have this system and thought it would be easy to add and might be worth it. I have thought I would have the switch for the fan in the Jeep so I could run it at will on the back roads and dirt trails."
Absolutely worth it - it's the only way to reliably keep dust out. Power it from the towing vehicle - free power & you only need it when under way. Moe